Can somebody please explain prayer to me? NWR

I’m so confused about prayer, especially when it comes to people “asking for prayers.” This morning I woke up and checked facebook. I saw a post about a girl who was begging for prayers because her sister’s truck wouldn’t start. Is that something worthy of asking people publicly for prayer? Does God really favor people who “receive” more prayer? Suppose there are two sick people. One person receives no prayers and the other person receives a crap ton of prayers. Is God really going to treat these two people differently in their sickness because more people prayed for one of them? Of the people I know, prayer is just asking God for help and nothing more. I still believe in God and pray, but I feel I don’t relate to today’s Christians. I thought prayers was supposed to be more personal and private. I thought it was supposed to be more than just asking him for things. It seems really selfish to ask for “everybody’s prayers” all the time when the issues are so small and not life threatening. What do you think the point of prayer is?

I agree with you. I think prayers are private things too. If a close friend were to ask me personally to pray for them (especially if it’s serious), then it’s not the same as, “Pray for me to pass my test/get a promotion/win my game today!” posted on Facebook. Those Facebook posts just seem selfish, whereas a personal prayer request from a friend comes across, to me at least, as, “I genuinely need help.”

I believe God will never tell someone who prays to Him that his problem is too small or not urgent enough. Remember when Jesus was at a wedding and the bride and groom ran out of wine. That problem was not as urgent as, say, healing a leper or raising someone from the dead, yet He still helped them.

I don’t say the following to criticize or condemn; it’s merely an opinion. I think some Christians feel more secure asking for prayer because they believe that if God doesn’t listen to them, surely He will listen to someone among all the people that are praying for them. They don’t doubt in their hearts that God can help them with their problem, but they might doubt that God will do it for them. So they get others praying as well. That said, there’s nothing wrong with praying for others or asking others to pray for us.

I think prayer is seriously misused/misunderstood by a lot of people nowadays. I’ve always thought of it as a private, personal, meditative tool that we should use in order to strive for a closer relationship with and understanding of God.

Never underestimate the power of prayer. “If you believe, you will recieve whatever you ask for in prayer” I prayed extensively about the weather on my wedding day. and I asked all the christians i knew to do the same. Is it dumb thing to pray for? Theres no such thing. God loves you and cares for you personally.. there is nothing too big or too small for God to handle. The point is to give it up to God and trust him with it. I did and even though there was a tropical storm and pouring rain for the week leading up to it…. it cleared up and was beautiful by the morning of the wedding. When you pray you are giving it up to God and seeking his will and his favor in this situation. If you do that it will work out according to his will.

But God’s people (his followers) coming together to pray for something, anything, is very powerful and I believe that God looks upon that favorably. It doesn’t mean it will be answered “yes” it means it will happen according to his will.

I also think this is specific to christians who have a relationship with God on a personal level. A bunch of Aithiests mumbling some “prayer” won’t be heard because God doesn’t know them and he only answers the calls of his people crying out to their heavenly father for his help.

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19–20, NKJV)

You can pray for yourself, but I believe in having more than one person come together in agreeance for what God can do

@sheepandbear: I can see how that can really make you question what is the point of prayer. Well from my studies of the Bible it has help understand the point of and also the proper way to pray. Prayer is basically communication with God. Now were talking bout Good almighty, so it means that you can have a personal relationship with him, so you can really talk to him about anything that is on you mind, heavy in your heart, or just sharing in the joy in your life. Prayer isn’t limited but there is a proper way to pray, Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus, the son of God has given us a model to follow. Its not for us to repeat it but its just like an outline of what we should pray about and what things are more important. For example how it brings out in end of verse 9- 10 “…”Our Father in the heavans, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” So we need to pray according to Gods will. There is soo many amazing things about prayer but one thing i really apprecatie is the fact that God already knows our needs before we ask but he wants us to talk to him in prayer because it is how we draw close to him. Many in the world don’t realize that we can actually be God’s friend and just like any good friends today when we talk we share everything that is on our mind.God is our best confidant 🙂 but with that comes another important criteria, that we need to have Faith! (James 1:6-8). Theres really so much about prayer i could go on and on lol! But i hope that helped to answer your question 🙂 🙂

@sheepandbear: The point of praying is to connect to God. Praying for someone else is not selfish. It is significantly less selfish than praying for yourself, for example.

I find myself comparing it to the laws of attraction. Basically, if you put that energy out in the universe (for example, truly believing you will get that promotion/job), it will line up in place sooner or later; no doubts, a constant belief is necessary.

@RedPandas: Its not that God says oh i’m gonna answer her prayer but not his… its just more that he already has a plan for rain or sun…. Maybe theres a bigger reason that it needs to rain that day that you don’t know about. You just gotta trust that God knows best even if he doesnt honor your request. Prayer is about connecting to and talking to God… not him giving you what you want.

Sometimes the biggest blessings are when God says No. He knows what i need and what i really want a lot better then I do. Sometimes he says yes, sometimes he says no, and sometimes he says not yet…. either way if i’m living according to his plan instead of mine then i know it’ll work out.

Since this is posted on the Christian board, I am going to be very specific in my comments.

There is tremendouspower in prayer. As Christians, we are commanded by God — in His Word — to pray, and Jesus taught us how to pray and that we are to pray in His name.

The keysto prayer are knowing who God is; knowing who we are in, through and because of Christ; knowing who our enemy, the devil, is and how he works; and in praying according to the will — and the Word — of God. When we pray according to the will and Word of God, we can be confident in knowing that He hears us and that He will answer us.

However, it’s important to note that this does not mean that we will always receive what we want, because, sometimes (often), what we want is not God’s will and plan for our lives. Sometimes, He has a much greater purpose in mind for us or for others than we could ever understand at the time we are praying. That is why it is so vital that we know who God is, who we are in Christ, and how to pray according to the will of God.

@sheepandbear: I’m not Christian, but I think it’s just a way for people to seek out comfort in times of need. Not them praying themselves, but asking for other people’s prayers. I don’t think it does any harm, and I don’t think it’s selfish. I pray for people that I care about, and sometimes the only way I know that they have something going on worth praying about is if they mention it.